Business confidence in the North West rose by ten points to 58%, according to the latest Business Barometer from Lloyds – the highest figure recorded outside of London in February.
While companies in the region reported lower confidence in their own business prospects month-on-month, down three points at 67%, their optimism in the economy rose 22 points to 48%. Taken together, gives a headline confidence reading of 58% (vs. 48% in December 2025).
Looking ahead to the next six months, North West businesses identified their top target areas for growth as entering new markets (47%), introducing new technology, such as AI or automation (46%), and evolving their offering, for example by introducing new products or services (45%).
The Business Barometer, which surveys 1,200 businesses monthly and which has been running since 2002, provides early signals about UK economic trends both regionally and nationwide.
Overall, UK business confidence was unchanged since January at 44%.
Firms’ confidence in their own trading prospects fell six points to 53%, but their optimism in the wider economy rose eight points to 36%.
London was the most confident UK nation or region in February (59%), followed by the North West (58%) and Northern Ireland (58%).
The construction sector saw strong gains in overall confidence. In February, confidence was up 14 points to 60%, with manufacturing also seeing a boost, up five points to 37%. Confidence for retail and service sector firms softened slightly, each down two and three points respectively.
Chris Whittle, area director in the North West at Lloyds, said: “North West confidence continues to rise this year.
“As local businesses look to build on this outlook – whether through entering new markets or introducing new technology – we’ll continue to be there with our support.”
Hann-Ju Ho, Senior Economist, Lloyds Commercial Banking, said: “It’s encouraging to see optimism in the wider economy returning, although with a small reduction in firms’ confidence in their own trading prospects. The majority of the survey results were collected following the Bank of England’s close decision to hold interest rates at its February meeting, signalling potential easing ahead, which may have alleviated business concerns, including those around cost pressures. While the rise in pricing expectations to a six month high may indicate firms are looking to rebuild their margins in 2026.
“It’s also great to see confidence increase for manufacturers and construction firms as they are key for UK growth.”
